Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohua and He Tianshu investigated why roughly sixty percent of the herb field’s plants were withering, but found no explanation. After sensing that the field’s Primordial Qi had greatly diminished, Zhang Xiaohua realized his cultivation had been drawing away the energy the herbs needed, leaving him to face his accidental responsibility.

• Zhang Xiaohua examined the withering herbs with He Tianshu and learned that about sixty percent of the field was affected.
• Zhang Xiaohua recalled that the weeds had been disappearing between rains and suggested the soil might need fertilizer, but He Tianshu dismissed the idea.
• He Tianshu planned to report the damage to the Medicine Hall, while Zhang Xiaohua insisted on keeping watch in the grass hut that night.
• While cultivating, Zhang Xiaohua sensed that the field’s Primordial Qi had fallen by more than half and suspected his practice was linked to the herbs’ decline.
• After another night of cultivation, Zhang Xiaohua concluded that he had been drawing away the Primordial Qi the herbs needed and accepted that he was responsible for their withering.

Zhang Xiaohua worried that his mistake had ruined the medicinal fields, but He Tianshu returned from the Medicine Hall with news that they faced no immediate severe punishment. After failing to practice the Floating Technique, Zhang Xiaohua suddenly thought of a possible way to save the withering herbs.

• Zhang Xiaohua agonized over whether to confess responsibility for the herbs, then found He Tianshu and the others returning from the Medicine Hall.
• He Tianshu told Zhang Xiaohua that Elder He had sent them back to investigate the cause and try to revive the herbs, with only possible wage deductions ahead.
• Zhang Xiaohua joined He Tianshu and the others in examining the fields, but they found no way to restore the plants.
• Zhang Xiaohua went to the woods to practice the Floating Technique, but could not lift himself off the ground and returned to his room as storm clouds gathered.
• As rain began falling, Zhang Xiaohua suddenly thought of a way to treat the herbs' yellowing and withering.

Zhang Xiaohua risked drawing spiritual qi during a thunderstorm to save the yellowing herbs, but a surge of primordial qi overwhelmed his body and shattered his meridians. He lost consciousness as starlight began repairing him, while He Tianshu endured an unusual night of thunder.

• Zhang Xiaohua overcame his fear of heavenly thunder and began drawing in qi at the herb-field shed, hoping to save the yellowing herbs.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed approaching thunder and continued his cultivation despite growing afraid of what might happen.
• A thunderclap above the herb field produced a flood of primordial qi that burst Zhang Xiaohua's pores and fractured his meridians.
• Zhang Xiaohua lost consciousness, and starlight filtered the violent qi as it repaired his body and guided vitality into his mind.
• He Tianshu searched for Zhang Xiaohua, returned to his cottage, and endured thunder that seemed to roll overhead until near dawn.

After surviving the night’s thunder, Zhang Xiaohua discovered that the herbs had revived and told He Tianshu and the others. As he cleaned himself, he found his injuries had vanished and began to suspect his strange bracelet was connected to his unexplained changes.

• Zhang Xiaohua awoke unharmed after the storm and saw that most of the herbs in the field had recovered.
• Zhang Xiaohua rushed to tell He Tianshu, who gathered Nie Xiao Er and the others to inspect the herbs.
• Zhang Xiaohua washed away bloodied scabs and foul-smelling black residue, but found no wounds on his body.
• Zhang Xiaohua recalled the Carefree Heart Sutra’s marrow-cleansing effect and wondered why it seemed to have happened to him.
• Zhang Xiaohua examined the bracelet, discovered it changed size to fit his wrist, and decided to keep its unusual nature secret.

After the herbs in the field revived during the storm, Zhang Xiaohua concealed his role and suspected that Primordial Qi was also needed to make dormant seeds sprout. He decided to seek a way to help Ou Yan’s seeds, then joined He Tianshu’s group as they headed to the Medicine Hall, hoping to cultivate there.

• Zhang Xiaohua returned to the herb field and told He Tianshu he had watched over it but did not know why the withered herbs had revived.
• He Tianshu and the others struggled to invent an explanation for the herbs’ recovery, then decided they would tell the Medicine Hall elders the truth.
• Zhang Xiaohua reasoned that the unsprouted seeds might need more Primordial Qi and resolved to find a way to help them for Ou Yan’s sake.
• After the rain stopped and no elders arrived, He Tianshu and the others decided to report the herbs’ recovery to the Medicine Hall themselves.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked to go with them, and He Tianshu told him to return Hall Master Bai’s token before entering the Medicine Hall.

Zhang Xiaohua and He Tianshu found Misty Manor on high alert and learned that strange events had followed the thunderstorm: herbs had grown rapidly, and disciples had vanished near forbidden grounds. The Misty Sect ordered everyone to stay twenty zhang away, while Zhang Xiaohua wondered whether his Primordial Qi cultivation had caused the disappearances.

• Zhang Xiaohua and He Tianshu encountered unusually strict guards and groups of whispering disciples on their way through Misty Manor.
• A guard initially barred Zhang Xiaohua from the Medicine Hall, but Hall Master Bai allowed him to enter and warned him not to wander.
• He Tianshu learned that herbs in the Medicine Hall had grown dramatically overnight after the thunderstorm.
• Disciples vanished near several forbidden grounds, prompting Great Gang Leader Ou to order everyone to stay at least twenty zhang away.
• He Tianshu and the others feared they had once played near the forbidden grounds, while Zhang Xiaohua wondered if his Primordial Qi cultivation had caused the events.

Zhang Xiaohua stayed in the Medicine Hall, discovered that his true qi had grown after the lightning incident, and began drawing in the area’s abundant primordial qi. Meanwhile, Ou Peng reprimanded Misty Sect’s leaders for neglecting the forbidden areas and the sect’s emergency plans.

• He Tianshu warned Zhang Xiaohua to return to Huanxi Mountain Villa, but Zhang Xiaohua persuaded him to arrange a guest room instead.
• Zhang Xiaohua checked his cultivation and found his true qi had grown more than tenfold since the previous day.
• Zhang Xiaohua rejected the idea of repeatedly drawing lightning, then cultivated the Carefree Heart Sutra and absorbed the dense primordial qi around the Medicine Hall.
• Zhang Xiaohua wondered whether primordial qi had caused the forbidden areas to change, but resolved not to investigate them.
• Hall Master Bai, Elder He, and the others joined Ou Peng in the Council Hall, where Ou Peng rebuked the sect’s leaders for ignoring safety rules and failing to learn the emergency plans.

Ouyang Peng briefed the Misty Sect leaders on the forbidden grounds and the strange changes at Huanxi Mountain Villa, then privately began preparing Zhang Chengyue to succeed him. He revealed that the forbidden-ground mystery reached back to the Immortal Annihilation of ten thousand years ago.

• Ouyang Peng told the sect leaders that the forbidden grounds had once been holy lands and that the missing disciples might have encountered a fortuitous opportunity.
• Ouyang Peng ordered Zhang Chengyue to meet Zhang Xiaohua about the Big Dipper Divine Fist and deliver a promised reward.
• Hall Master Bai reported that withered herbs at Huanxi Mountain Villa had revived, prompting Ouyang Peng to wonder whether the world was changing.
• Ouyang Peng reassured the sect leaders about the forbidden grounds and dismissed them, then asked Zhang Chengyue to stay behind.
• Ouyang Peng praised Zhang Chengyue and said the future gang leader needed to learn the sect's secrets.
• Ouyang Peng began explaining the forbidden grounds by invoking the Immortal Annihilation of ten thousand years ago, shocking Zhang Chengyue.

Ouyang Peng explained to Zhang Chengyue how immortal cultivation began in their world and how the Misty Sect had once been one of its four great sects. He left Zhang Chengyue stunned by revealing that martial arts had not even existed when cultivators ruled the world.

• Zhang Chengyue asked Ouyang Peng what Immortal Path Annihilation meant, and Ouyang Peng explained that it referred to the destruction of the path of cultivating immortality.
• Ouyang Peng told Zhang Chengyue that four cultivators had arrived in their world through a Teleportation Array, founded sects, and taught people to cultivate Primordial Qi.
• Ouyang Peng described immortal cultivation realms, including Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul, and explained that cultivators could refine pills, artifacts, and talismans.
• Ouyang Peng said the four great cultivation sects had been the Incense-Passing Cult, the Great Forest Temple, the Divine Blade Sect, and the Misty Sect.
• Zhang Chengyue asked why only martial artists remained, and Ouyang Peng revealed that martial arts had not existed when cultivators ran rampant through the world.

Ou Peng explained how Primordial Qi vanished and the Immortal Path gave way to martial arts, then connected the returning Primordial Qi to the Misty Sect’s forbidden grounds and Secret Realm. He left Zhang Chengyue realizing that the dense forest around the Secret Realm was an array formation, suggesting the world was changing and the Immortal Path might return.

• Ou Peng told Zhang Chengyue that Primordial Qi had dwindled until it vanished, ending the Immortal Path and leaving cultivators unable to use the Teleportation Array.
• Ou Peng explained that martial arts developed from immortal cultivation, and that many techniques descended from the Great Heavenly Cycle Star Fist, which might be related to Zhang Xiaohua’s Big Dipper Divine Fist.
• Ou Peng described how yuanstones disappeared and how immortal cultivation techniques such as the Misty Sect’s Floating Technique became unusable without Primordial Qi.
• Ou Peng told Zhang Chengyue that the Misty Sect’s forbidden-ground formations had suddenly expanded, suggesting they had absorbed Primordial Qi and that the world might be changing.
• Ou Peng identified the Secret Realm as a favorable factor for the Misty Sect and realized that its dense forest was an array formation.

Ou Peng and Zhang Chengyue discussed the Misty Sect’s hopes of using the Secret Realm and Zhang Xiaohua’s unusual Big Dipper Divine Fist to prepare for the Immortal Path’s return. The next morning, Zhang Chengyue found Zhang Xiaohua and gave him the banknote and token Ou Peng had promised.

• Ou Peng told Zhang Chengyue he believed the Secret Realm could help the Misty Sect rise above its rivals, but admitted that neither immortal cultivation methods nor a way to sense Primordial Qi were available to them.
• Ou Peng and Zhang Chengyue concluded that Zhang Xiaohua’s Big Dipper Divine Fist might be connected to the Great Heavenly Cycle Star Fist, explaining why acupoint strikes failed against him.
• Ou Peng instructed Zhang Chengyue to quietly record Zhang Xiaohua’s fist manual, give him the promised manual, and avoid drawing other sects’ attention to him.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed that Primordial Qi in the Medicine Hall was dwindling, considered the dangerous forbidden grounds as another possible source, and decided not to risk his life there.
• Zhang Chengyue met Zhang Xiaohua outside the Medicine Hall and gave him the banknote and token Ou Peng had promised.

Zhang Chengyue exchanged Zhang Xiaohua’s thousand-tael banknote for smaller bills, then took him to a secret underground chamber to record the Big Dipper Divine Fist for the Misty Sect. The chapter left Zhang Xiaohua ready to demonstrate the technique, offering to perform it seven times.

• Zhang Xiaohua persuaded Zhang Chengyue to exchange his thousand-tael note for a hundred ten-tael notes and agreed to answer Great Gang Leader Ou’s summons.
• Zhang Chengyue led Zhang Xiaohua to his residence and explained that he had been personally appointed to record the fist manual.
• Zhang Chengyue brought Zhang Xiaohua through a hidden entrance in his study to an underground martial arts chamber.
• Zhang Chengyue asked Zhang Xiaohua to demonstrate the Big Dipper Divine Fist, and Zhang Xiaohua offered to perform it seven times.

Zhang Xiaohua demonstrated the Big Dipper Divine Fist so Zhang Chengyue could record it, and his careful corrections helped expose mistakes in the manual. Afterward, Zhang Xiaohua practiced slowly and realized that different martial arts movements required different speeds, a lesson he applied to his left-hand sword.

• Zhang Xiaohua performed the Big Dipper Divine Fist for Zhang Chengyue, and the slow sixth run-through brought on a powerful bone-tempering warm current.
• Zhang Chengyue imitated the fist technique, then recorded ten moves as Zhang Xiaohua demonstrated them one by one.
• Zhang Xiaohua spotted several errors in Zhang Chengyue's drawings and showed him how to correct them.
• Zhang Chengyue kept Zhang Xiaohua in a nearby courtyard rather than letting him visit Zhang Xiaohu, and Zhang Xiaohua practiced the fist until nine bone-tempering cycles had passed.
• Zhang Xiaohua realized that different techniques required different speeds and practiced his left-hand sword with both swift and slow movements.

Zhang Xiaohua slowed the recording of the Big Dipper Divine Fist so he could remain in Zhang Chengyue’s courtyard and cultivate, but finished the manual after Zhang Chengyue agreed he could stay longer. Ou Peng reviewed the manual and decided to choose a candidate to begin practicing the fist, leaving the candidate unnamed.

• Zhang Xiaohua cultivated in Zhang Chengyue’s courtyard, where he found Primordial Qi as dense as in the Medicine Hall.
• Zhang Chengyue and Zhang Xiaohua recorded the Big Dipper Divine Fist, but Zhang Xiaohua deliberately slowed the work to prolong his stay.
• Zhang Chengyue confronted Zhang Xiaohua, who admitted he wanted to enjoy the courtyard’s comfortable surroundings and asked to visit more often.
• After Zhang Chengyue promised he could stay longer, Zhang Xiaohua stopped holding back, and the pair completed and corrected the fist manual.
• Ou Peng read the manual and discussed the fist’s unusual relationship with internal force with Zhang Chengyue.
• Ou Peng told Zhang Chengyue to select disciples from the Fledgling Eagle Hall to practice the fist, then said he already had an excellent candidate in mind.

Ou Peng arranged for Zhang Chengyue to teach Shui Tiantian the Big Dipper Divine Fist, while Zhang Xiaohua received the promised manual and reunited with Zhang Xiaohu. Zhang Xiaohu could not leave immediately to visit Guo Village, but said they could go in two or three days.

• Ou Peng told Zhang Chengyue to accept Shui Tiantian as his disciple and teach him the Big Dipper Divine Fist, and Zhang Chengyue agreed to approach Shui Yupeng.
• Shui Yupeng gladly accepted the arrangement, and Zhang Chengyue later gave Zhang Xiaohua a copy of the fist manual after warning him not to pass it on.
• Zhang Xiaohua learned that the herbs at Huanxi Mountain Villa had recovered and that Zhang Xiaohu had begun learning the Misty Divine Art from Wen Wenhai.
• Zhang Xiaohu explained that martial arts required balance and comprehension, prompting Zhang Xiaohua to reconsider his fixation on absorbing Primordial Qi.
• Zhang Xiaohu asked Wen Wenhai for permission to travel with Zhang Xiaohua to Guo Village, but Wen Wenhai refused for the moment.
• Zhang Xiaohu told Zhang Xiaohua they could leave in two or three days, and Zhang Xiaohua realized his brother had been teasing him.

Zhang Xiaohua returned to Huanxi Mountain Villa, reunited with its servants, and experimented with using the Floating Technique alongside his Lightness Skill. He realized the technique consumed true qi, then visited He Tianshu, who remarked that Zhang Xiaohua had earned Ou Peng’s favor.

• Zhang Xiaohua left Zhang Xiaohu after they discussed their plans to return home and the need to temper their impatience.
• Zhang Xiaohua inspected the revived herb fields at Huanxi Mountain Villa and noticed that his grass shack had been removed.
• Ma Jing hurried to flatter Zhang Xiaohua and seek his goodwill, but Zhang Xiaohua used the Floating Technique to leave before Ma Jing could grab him.
• Zhang Xiaohua discovered he had traveled to his courtyard using Lightness Skill and practiced combining it with the Floating Technique in the woods, learning that floating consumed much of his true qi.
• Zhang Xiaohua cleaned his room and visited He Tianshu, who said the Misty Sect disciples envied his frequent access to Ou Peng.

After his success at the Martial Arts Tournament, Zhang Xiaohua visited Ou Yan and Qiutong, who praised him and rewarded him on behalf of Huanxi Mountain Villa. He then received four hundred taels in one-tael banknotes and nearly fell over at the sight of them.

• Zhang Xiaohua discussed Great Gang Leader Ou’s interest in the Big Dipper Divine Fist and asked He Tianshu about the Floating Technique.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked He Tianshu for leave to return home, but He Tianshu told him that Ou Yan had given him freedom to decide his own movements.
• Zhang Xiaohua visited Ou Yan and Qiutong, who praised his performance at the Martial Arts Tournament and said Huanxi Mountain Villa would reward him.
• Qiutong brought Zhang Xiaohua four hundred one-tael banknotes, and Zhang Xiaohua nearly fell over when he learned their total.

Zhang Xiaohua accepted Ou Yan’s reward, prepared to return home with Zhang Xiaohu, and waited for his brother to finish cultivating. The brothers finally reunited and set off for home on two borrowed horses.

• Ou Yan gave Zhang Xiaohua two thousand taels in banknotes as a reward for his service and for saving her life, and approved his leave to visit home.
• Zhang Xiaohua practiced martial arts and cultivated while waiting, then searched for Li Jinfeng at the academy but learned he was away and obtained his Hui Lu Town address.
• Zhang Xiaohu arrived after recovering from a near Qi Deviation during his cultivation of the Misty Divine Art, and told Zhang Xiaohua he was ready to leave.
• Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu gathered their bundles and left Huanxi Mountain Villa with two communal horses borrowed through Zhang Xiaohu’s connection to Wen Wenhai.

Zhang Xiaohu and Zhang Xiaohua left Pingyang City on horseback, heading home to Guo Village after Zhang Xiaohu helped his younger brother adjust to riding. They avoided a suspicious roadside shack, where a gang of would-be bandits debated whether to abandon robbery and genuinely run an inn.

• Zhang Xiaohu taught Zhang Xiaohua to ride, and Zhang Xiaohua quickly grew comfortable controlling his horse.
• Zhang Xiaohua overcame his worry that everyone on the street was staring at him, then rode alongside Zhang Xiaohu out of Pingyang City.
• Zhang Xiaohu remembered that he had not visited Young Master Li, but Zhang Xiaohua explained that he had already gone and learned Li was gathering folk songs with his teacher.
• The brothers discussed visiting Young Master Li another time and continued toward Guo Village, stopping at noon near a roadside shack.
• Zhang Xiaohu noticed the suspicious-looking horses and people at the shack, warned Zhang Xiaohua, and led him away without stopping.
• The shack's boss and his men complained that travelers would not stop for their planned robberies, and the boss agreed to consider the attendant's suggestion to open a real roadside shop.

Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu traveled toward Lu Town, avoiding a suspicious roadside shack before hearing women cry for help in a forest. They found West Cui Mountain bandits attacking two women, and Zhang Xiaohua charged in as Zhang Xiaohu followed, leaving them facing the bandits in a clearing.

• Zhang Xiaohu explained why he had avoided the suspicious shack and warned Zhang Xiaohua not to underestimate dangers on the road.
• The brothers rested, then rode for several days without incident until they reached a fork near Lu Town.
• Zhang Xiaohua heard women calling for help from a nearby forest, and Zhang Xiaohu agreed they should investigate.
• A West Cui Mountain bandit warned them away, but Zhang Xiaohua rode into the forest, angered by the bandits' return.
• Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu found two frightened women surrounded by six bandits, while the women lost hope at the sight of the young newcomers.